


Simultaneous

by Kneeckoh



Series: Parallel [1]
Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Vocaloid - Freeform, utauloid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2015-09-21
Packaged: 2018-04-21 13:02:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4830074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kneeckoh/pseuds/Kneeckoh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the story of a very important day in the lives of two independent characters: Miku Hatsune and Neru Akita.  It is a story of life, love, hope, the future, and what it means to be (or not be) a Vocaloid.  How will the two of them fare?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Simultaneous, Parts 1-3

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first part of my Vocaloid fanfiction. It'll 10 chapters long, and I'll be posting them all individually, periodically. It follows the lives of Vocaloid Miku Hatsune and Boukaloid Neru Akita, with an unexpected twist.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These are the first three parts of my Vocaloid fanfiction. Originally divided up into 10 parts, I decided that the individual parts were too short to post seperately. The distinction of where one part ended and ther next began is not that important, just that it told one story about two independent characters: Miku Hatsune and Neru Akita, and a very important day in their lives.

\---,  )--\-----     
      ( ( 06:00 AM ) )     
           -------(     ‘---

The sound of her own voice woke her.

_Sekaaaii dee, ichii-ban_ **\--WHAM!!**

Miku brought her hand down on the alarm clock, ending the song prematurely.  She rolled over slowly to stare groggily at the clock's face.  The big leek was pointing... straight down.  ...Why in the world would she get up so early?  She tried to remember what today was... but her mind was still too sluggish.  She reached her arm out and grabbed her cell phone which lay beside the clock on the bedside stand.  Flipping it open, she intended to check her schedule, but just ended up pressing random buttons as she drifted back into sleep.

 

   ---      
      --- 06:03 AM ---     
                   ---

Neru woke to the sound of a text.

_Sekaaaii dee, ichii-ban o hime-samaaa!_ sang the phone.

Wh... why was Miku texting her?  ...What time was it, anyways?  She sat up, grabbing her phone out of its charging station on her bedside stand.  6'o'clock?  Miku never got up this early. Maybe she was preparing for that big concert today...  But the text suggested something different.   **"mn*tdddd"** it read.  The prospect of sleep-texting ran through Neru's mind, but her thoughts soon passed to other things.  Now that she was awake, there was no going back to sleep; she found that she could never really get back to sleep after being awakened.  So she busied herself with her daily morning routine.

 

\---,  )--\-----     
      ( ( 07:26 AM ) )     
           -------(     ‘---

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner!?" Miku yelled, frantically packing stuff into her large suitcase.  "You know that today is the day of my big concert!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" came from downstairs.  “But _I_ wasn’t the one who overslept!”

Miku sighed. Kaito was right, after all. Due to the early hour her concert started at, Miku had tried to get up earlier, but it was all for naught. She had a very strict sleep schedule, and it never turned out well when it was broken. Despite this, Miku had tried to get up an hour earlier than usual to prepare, and, as she had dreaded, it had actually made things worse.

Either way, here she was now, frantically packing an hour's worth of preparation into 20 minutes, 10 of which, she realized after checking her clock, were already gone.  Mumbling angrily to herself, stuffing random things she hoped she might need, she mentally checked off the things she actually did need.  Shirts, uniform, pants, skirt, leggings, sleeves, random assorted makeup stuff, hair care products...

Satisfied that she had gathered everything she needed, she closed, zipped up, and grabbed her suitcase, dashing out the door of her room.  She ran the two flights of stairs to the ground floor, yelling the whole way to make sure that everyone felt the same sense of urgency that she did.  On the ground floor, she saw Meiko in the kitchen, packing lunches for everyone.

"Anyone... else up...?" Miku asked breathlessly.

"Yeah," Meiko replied.  "Kaito's downstairs getting your equipment.  I think the twins are up, but they haven't come downstairs yet."  
  
Groaning inwardly, she walked back up the two flights of stairs to the third floor, noticing that they had about 5 minutes until they had to leave to arrive at a reasonable time.  She left her suitcase on the ground floor.  On the third floor, she walked up to Rin's room, on the right side of the hallway.  She raised her hand to knock on the door, but never got the chance.  It opened quickly, and Rin yelled, "I'm ready!  I'm ready!  Move it!"  
  
Miku jumped out of the girl's way as she ran down the hall, her orange backpack bobbing in time with her ribbon.  Miku sighed, and turned to Len's door, opposite Rin's.  Banging on it, she yelled "C'mon, hurry up!  We gotta leave in, like, 4 minutes!"  
  
"I know!  I know!" came from within. "I'm hurrying!"  
  
"Well, hurry faster!" Miku shouted impatiently.  She waited and listened as he ran about his room frantically, packing and shelving and running and shoving.  Then suddenly, silence.  Miku stood for a long moment, thought about calling his name, and decided against it.  Instead, she simply turned the handle and opened the door.  And there he was, staring at her, wide-eyed in midstep, holding what looked like a backpack, blue and black.  His own yellow backpack he was already wearing, fully packed and ready to go.  
  
She stomped in and grabbed the thing he was carrying, and shoved him out of the room.  When he hesitated in the doorway, she then proceeded to chase him all the way to the ground floor, where he ran out the front door to join his sister in the van Kaito had driven out front.  
  
She stood there beside her suitcase for several seconds, slightly winded, before she realized that she was still holding something.  Lifting it up to observe it, she saw that it was, indeed, a backpack.  A smallish, primary school backpack.  As she turned it around, she noted its lack of pockets; it seemed to only have two.  And when she had turned it all the way around, across the front of it was printed a large picture of... herself.  
  
"Why would Len have...?" she thought to herself, a rather puzzled half-smile crossing her face.  As she went to toss it away, she paused, remembering a plan she had been formulating in her spare time.  This would be just perfect for...  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by Meiko, who was coming down from her room on the second floor.  
  
"Miku!" she said, surprised.  "I thought you were packed!  Hurry up!" she yelled as she ran past.  "We've got to get there before eight!"  
  
As Miku was stuffing the backpack into the front pocket of her suitcase, she glanced up at the clock.  "20 minutes.  That should be just enough," she thought as she followed Meiko out the front door, pulling her suitcase behind her.  
  
She honestly had no idea how today would turn out.

 

  ---     
      --- 08:23 AM ---     
                   ---

Neru was angry.  2 whole hours to prepare, and she was still going to be late!  She pedaled harder, pushing the yellow bicycle farther up the steep slope.  
  
She hated this street.  The slope was just shallow enough to make her feel like she could made it up, but just steep enough to make this impossible.  At that point, she would have to get off and walk the rest off the way.  She hated walking her bike because it made her feel wimpy. Especially today, since everybody seemed to be going the other direction.  They probably all going to that Miku concert today.  She hated Miku.  
  
She hated a lot of things.  Traffic, jaywalkers, long lines, baseball, her phone bill, long books, paper cuts, convenience stores, limousines, undercooked rice, and overcooked ramen, for example, just to name a few.  
  
She even felt that she hated her flatmate at times.  Take this morning for example.  Haku had decided that it was a good idea to go out, in her current condition, at 7:30 in the morning, and get lost.  Neru had had to go out, find her, drag her back (which was a chore in and of itself), and convince her poor roommate that she shouldn't go out until her head stopped feeling like it was splitting in half.  At which point it was already past eight, and Neru wasn't even close to being ready to leave.  
  
So here she was, pushing her bike up the last bit of slope, the steepest part, to gaze down the rows of shops and stores and restaurants that lined this particular drive.  Her destination was not yet in view, and a single glance to the clock behind her told her that she was almost running late.  If she didn't arrive by 8:30, then she would be late.  Again.  With some luck, she just might make it.  She hopped on her bike and began pedaling furiously.  
  
After a few tiring minutes, she could finally see her destination in the distance.  She closed her eyes, pumping all her energy into her legs and, by extension, her bike.  Her only thought was to arrive before the second hand managed to tick around once more.  
  
She didn't make it.  Even if she had been watching, she probably wouldn't have been able to avoid the red and black blur that rushed in front of her.  Neither did this blur realize that it was in danger; its focus was on the small white creature fleeing from it.  
  
Bystanders could only watch as, seemingly in slow motion, the yellow blur barreled into the red blur, sending them both flying.  
  
Neru shook her head to clear the pain and confusion as she picked herself up off the ground.  She opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times to clear the haze that clouded her vision.  Her bike was on its side a couple feet from her, its back wheel still spinning.  She staggered the few steps to it and picked it up; it seemed to be in okay condition.  The only thought she managed to focus on was that she was going to be late.  
  
But as she went to get on her bike, she suddenly felt a cold, icy hand grip her upper arm.  She turned to see who its owner was... and found her self staring into the blood-red, menacing eyes of Zatsune Miku.  
  
Neru's eyes widened in fear as she pieced together what must have just occurred.  She had never crossed paths with Zatsune, and she had never planned to.  She had heard that the ones that had gotten on this girl's bad side had ended up a lot worse off.  She was suddenly aware of the eyes of the many bystanders on them.  She was also aware, in some disconnected part of her mind, that the clock had passed 8:30, and her boss would stop waiting and start counting.  But she couldn't move, paralyzed by the depth and anger in the other girl's eyes.    
  
But, slowly, she felt the cold vise on her arm start to loosen, and, abruptly, Zatsune turned and strode away.  Neru hesitated only a moment before turning and running her bike the rest of the way to the restaurant.  She parked her bike outside, and with only a glance at the restaurant's name, ducked inside.  
  
Above the double glass doors were two simple letters: A and H.  To some they were just letters, but to others they meant a lot more.  To some it was just a restaurant in a building that had, until recently, been deserted.  But to Neru it was her chance, her work, her thirty ninth job.  And as she walked in, she saw her boss standing there, a concerned and disappointed look on his face.  
  
"I'm sorry I was late, Mr. Hiyama..." she said to him.  
  
Mr. Kiyoteru Hiyama was not an intimidating person.  He was always wearing a businesslike suit, and his ever present briefcase lay on a nearby table.  He owned the restaurant.  He managed all the financial aspects of the place, timetables, pay, hiring, and such.  He occasionally helped Miki cook when the orders were overwhelming.  He was a very forgiving man and was slow to anger, but Neru had pushed him to limits he had never reached before.  
  
Over the past 4 days, Neru had been steadily doing worse.  It's not like she had come in doing well, either.  Over the course of the week she had wavered between laziness and carelessness, with small bursts of actual productivity in between.  Needless to say, nobody was happy.

"I won't penalize you for being late today, Neru," he said.  "I saw what happened outside."

She nodded slowly.  Kiyoteru had a sort of point system for his employees.

"But I'm going to have to cut most of your breaks."

Her eyes widened as she looked up.  "But those are the only times I have to--!"  He held up a hand to stop her.

"I have to show you something."  He turned and picked up his briefcase.  She followed him through the "Employees Only" door in the back and to the right down the hall to which his office adjoined on the left.  The walls of his office were covered with charts, graphs, and documents, all showing various financial aspects of the restaurant.  He went up to one, the last in a line of like charts, and said, "This is your Time Chart for this week."  It was 5 parallel horizontal lines, all spaced evenly from top to bottom.  The first four had increasingly more red marks on them.  
  
"What are those... red marks?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
"These," he said, pointing to one.  "Are every time you went outside, took a break, without permission.  Each one is exactly the length you spent not working.  In total, they add up to about an hour and a half.  And thus," he gestured to that day's line, on the bottom of the chart.  "You'll only have one break today: 15 minutes for lunch around noon."  
  
She nodded slowly.  The other employees' charts had not a mark on them.  
  
"It's almost 9'o'clock.  You'd better get your uniform on."  
  
She slowly turned and walked out of the room, taking her apron and hat from the hooks beside the door.  She honestly had no idea how today would turn out.


	2. Simultaneous, Parts 4-5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens! To... about the consistecy of warm jello.

\---,  )--\-----     
      ( ( 03:21 PM ) )     
           -------(     ‘---

The concert had gone well.  The hall had been packed full, and she knew that thousands, maybe even millions, had been watching her live.  She had overheard that there had been nearly 40,000 people inside the concert hall itself.  
  
She had been singing for almost 6 hours straight, and she was _Tired_.  With a capital "T".  She was ready to go home and eat a tub of Leek-flavored ice cream.  Ahhhh.....  But they were out of that...  
  
She was lounging on the couch in her office.  Well, they called it her "office", but it was really just her lounge.  It had a big couch, a couple of fluffy armchairs, a giant flatscreen TV on the wall opposite the door, and a desk in the corner unused except for the Nendoroids lined up on it.  There was a collection of PSP's and Project Diva games lined up on the bookshelf opposite the desk.  The other shelves of the bookshelf had various Miku collectibles and pictures and stuff.  
  
Everything in the room was various shades of blue-green, of course, hence its nickname "The Cyan Room".  The bookcase, the desk, the lamps, the chairs, even the TV was blue.  But the couch was the most important part of the room.  She and the other Crypton Vocaloids had greeted many a new -loid on that couch.  Many happy hours had been spent with the twins there, playing games and watching TV.  Occasionally, Len had brought his Wii or PlayStation3, and they had played on those.  She had even slept on that couch a couple of times before, when the Higher-Ups had pronounced it "too dangerous" to venture out the concert hall.  
  
Such had a warning had been issued soon after the concert had ended, and she had confined to quarters.  And she was tired.  And bored.  The twins had left earlier, a bit before lunch.  Meiko was... she didn't know where.  Not that she would let Meiko drive her home.  She still got queasy thinking about the last and only time she had let her do it.  
  
She would have to get Kaito to take her home...  Wait, no.  He couldn't take her home because he wasn't here.  He was out on his monthly ice-cream restocking trip.  Of course the concert would be on the ninth.  It seemed like such a random date to get ice cream, but every month on the 9th, he got more ice-cream.  The only thing that they had managed to procure from him on the subject was that it had something to do with toes.  Or a hose.  Or a chilly nose.  Whatever that meant.  But either way, they never crossed him about it.  One did not get between Kaito and his ice cream.  
  
But still Miku was bored, bored, BORED.  She thought about going out and wandering about the concert hall, but with rabid fans out there with phones and cameras and stuff and...  It was too risky.  It had happened once before, and it hadn't been pretty.  Red tape had ended up everywhere, and it had taken 2 entire weeks for her hair to grow back to the right length, during which she hadn't been able to perform at all.  
  
Her hair.  Her hair was always getting in the way.  Of choreography, photos, food... you name it, her hair had probably gotten it its way.  But she couldn't just cut it.  It was iconic to her, it was who she was; it defined her.  
  
She had tried disguises to get past the unruly crowds before, but, again, her hair got in the way.  She, along with Meiko and Luka, had spent many hours once trying to find a suitable way to conceal her hair.  But it was just too big, there was too much of it.  If only there was a way to carry it around without it being seen...  
  
Miku's eyes flew open, an idea flashing through her mind.  She jumped up from the couch and flung open her suitcase, which lay next to her on the couch.  She dug through it, flinging stuff everywhere, until she realized that what she was looking for was not in that part of the suitcase.  
  
She reached in to the front pocket and pulled out the now very wrinkled backpack.  Stretching it out a bit, she opened and felt around inside.  It was empty.  As she peered inside of it, it seemed quite large on the inside.    
  
She smiled.  This just might work!  
        
~ ~  
        
20 minutes later, Miku was somewhere she had never thought she would ever manage to be: out there, among the crowd, amidst the rabid fans and crazy paparazzi, and she wasn't being brutally assaulted.  In fact, she found herself being completely ignored!  It was a bit unnerving at first to not see every head turn when she came in to view, but she decided she liked it better this way when she wasn't on stage.  
  
Her disguise was simple.  It consisted of a large hat, a wig, a pair of sunglasses, a T-shirt, a jacket, a pair of long pants, and sneakers.  They were all different colors to (hopefully) distract people from her true identity, and the only thing that alluded to her real self was her image on the backpack.  Inside the backpack she had stuffed her massive hair.  It had been a bit difficult without anyone to help her, but she had managed it.  Or at least, she hoped she had.  She was wearing the backpack very high in hopes that nobody would notice that the hair in the back didn't match her "bangs".  
  
The large sunglasses disguised her unusually colored eyes and, she hoped, eyebrows.  The short brunette wig was under the giant hat she wore, a few bits of it sticking out in the front to give the illusion of normal hair color.  She had been careful not to have it stick out in the back, because the contrast between the two colors might have attracted too much attention.  Across the front of her white T-shirt was a logo she didn't know; it was a large, lime-green, windmill-like shape.  She didn't know why or how she owned this shirt, but that wasn't surprising.  Her pants were khaki, and her shoes were oddly purple.  She was glad for the grey jacket; it was a bit chilly out.  She had tried not to stress too much about it too much when she was picking the clothes out.  It had been hard, but she had managed.  
  
She had never realized how heavy her hair actually was.  But now that its weight was being carried by her shoulders rather than her head, the difference was shocking.  Her hair must have weighed at least 5 pounds!  And now, without that weight to swing around, she found it shockingly easy to turn her head.  It was liberating, but she knew she shouldn't do it too much for fear that her hair would escape from its confines.  
  
Miku sighed and looked to the sky.  It was a clear, cool early spring day, and she was glad she had picked it to go out.  The crowd had thinned out a bit, partially from time and partially from proximity to the concert hall.  The Plaza was a huge area, bigger than the concert hall itself.  A road ran all the way around the Plaza, variously sized roads branching off from it.  The Plaza was a fairly recent constuction, and it had yet to be used for any actual event.  
  
Despite its hugeness, however, the crowd was still fairly concentrated in the center, so Miku decided to avoid it.  Her destination was on the side of the Plaza opposite the concert hall, so she decided to skirt along the eastern edge of the Plaza.  She was going to play it safe for now.

 

  ---     
      --- 03:52 PM ---     
                   ---

"I'm sorry Neru, but you're fired."  
  
Kiyoteru's last words to her whirled around and around like a broken record in Neru's mind as she raced down the street on her bike.  She kept trying to tell herself that he was being unfair, that it wasn't her fault.  But she knew that wasn't true.  He was a kind, forgiving, and logical man.  And she had betrayed his trust.  She told herself that, this time, the guilt would not leave.  This time, she would learn from her mistakes.  
  
But she knew that that wasn't true either.  The guilt would fade away all too quickly, and she would not learn from her mistakes, she would keep making the same mistake over and over, the same mistake she had made every single time before.  
  
\---  
  
It had started a while after lunch break, which she had actually spent eating lunch for once.  Around 1'o'clock, Kiyoteru had announced that he had to pick up Yuki from school.  Nobody really knew the background of the relationship between Kiyoteru and little Yuki Kaai, but apparently he knew her parents or something, and he picked her up from school sometimes and she hung out at the restaurant from time to time.  School usually didn't get out for another couple of hours, but something had happened and he had had to pick her up early.  
  
Either way, he would be gone for at least 20 minutes as he went to get her.  As there were no customers at the time, Neru decided to take a little break to check her messages.  The only door that led outside (other than the front entrance) was down the hall past Kiyoteru's office, and she had a suspicion that this was how he monitored her breaks.  
  
She had successfully snuck out the door and into the alleyway it opened into.  At first, she had only intended to only check 10 of her 317 unread messages... but soon that number had increased to 20... then 40... pretty soon she found herself replying to the messages... . ...and eventually she found that her unread message folder was almost completely empty.  
  
Suddenly, the door leading inside slammed open, and Neru felt as if the bottom of her stomach had fallen out.  There in the doorway stood her boss, a concerned and disappointed look on his face.  
  
"Neru," he said.  "Do you have any idea how long you've been out here?"  
  
She shook her head slowly, slowly moving her gaze down to his shiny black shoes.  
  
"I left here a bit after one.  Due to various obstacles, what should have been a short errand became much longer.  I can assume you came out here shortly after I left?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
He sighed.  "It's 3:45."  
  
She looked up, startled.  "I- is it really!?"  
  
"Yes, it is.  You've been out here for more than 2 hours."  They stared at each other, silent, for a few moments.  Neru's wide eyed, almost panicked stare was in great contrast to Kiyoteru's stern, almost disapproving, stare.  He continued, "Earlier, I told Iroha and Miki not to disturb you, in hopes that you would come around on your own.  But it was hard on them.  At three, Miku's concert ended, and there was an influx of customers.  But they didn't come get you, even though they could have used your help, because they respect me.  Do you not respect me?"  
  
"I... I respect you..." she said lamely.  
  
"When you pull a stunt like this," he continued, "It not only hurts your fellow coworkers, it also hurts me, the business, and, by extension, all of AH Wares.  And we literally can't afford that.  I would have even let you take tomorrow off to test the next candidate in line.  But now..."  He paused, and then moved to one side of the doorway.  "Go on in, Neru, and hang up your uniform.  I have something to give you."  
  
She consented, walking past him, shoulders slumped, and took her apron and hat off, hanging them on the last in a line of empty hooks.  Kiyoteru walked past, through the swinging door, into the restaurant.  She followed.  The restaurant was deserted.  At any other time, she would have thought about how fickle the public was, but not now.  
  
Her boss had opened his briefcase, which lay on a nearby table, and was holding an envelope which he had, presumably, taken out of it.  He handed it to her.  
  
"Inside is 4 days pay.  You probably don't deserve it, but I know you have to pay for both of you to live in that apartment."  
  
She took it, but her attention was on something inside is open briefcase.  Kiyoteru didn't seem to notice, and began guiding her to the door by her shoulder.  Inside was a paper, a chart, her time chart to be exact, just like the one posted in his office.   _Except that this one had numerously more red marks on it than the one in his office._   She suddenly realized what he had said that morning.  
  
_"These are all the times you went outside, took a break, without permission."_  
  
What about her other mistakes?  She had made plenty of others, and she knew it.  Arguing with customers, getting orders wrong, bringing orders to the wrong table... The list went on, but she didn't want to relive those mistakes.  So, why would he not show her those?  Why would he keep her real time chart in his briefcase, safe from her knowledge?  Why would he change the numbers, which he loved so much, just to give her another chance?  And why... had she blown her chance...?  
  
She suddenly realized that she was outside the restaurant.  Kiyoteru had been talking to her the entire time, comforting and reassuring her, but she had come back to reality just in time to hear him say:  
  
"I'm sorry, Neru, but you're fired."  
  
And the door closed behind her.  
  
She had stood there for a moment, the envelope crumpled and forgotten in her fist, before getting on her bike and riding away.  
  
\---  
  
She remembered all this in a series of sounds and images, their meanings lost in her guilt.  Why would Mr. Hiyama, a logical and business oriented man, go out of his way to give her a second chance she didn't deserve?  It certainly didn't make any sense, from a business standpoint.  She had read on the internet about AH Ware's financial troubles.  Even between their band, grocer, bakery, and concerts, sales were still going down.  So Mr. Hiyama had taken it into his own hands to fix the problem, and bought the empty building into which he built the restaurant.  It had done fairly well, but he had been looking for help.  There was even a rumor going around that the next employee would be officially adopted into the company.  
  
Neru shook these thoughts from her head; she'd probably better be looking where she was going.  It was a good choice; she saw the beginning of the slope coming up fast.  She grabbed the handbrakes, but it didn't seem to matter; she zoomed onto the downhill portion of the street, getting at least a second of air before coming in contact with the asphalt.  She tried the handbrake again, but it didn't do anything.  Had she broken it?  Somewhere above her, she heard the clock begin to strike four.  
  
She was accelerating faster and faster, with no way of stopping, and the only thing she could do now was hope that nobody ended up in her way.  
  
She had no such luck.  There, right in her projected course, was a strange girl.  There was no hope of turning at this point; she was going too fast and there was not enough space, for fear that she might flip over.  Grey jacket, purple shoes... the girl seemed to be a complete stranger.  Khaki pants, black backpack... Cyan hair?!?  
  
No matter what sort of ridiculous disguise she had decided to put on, Neru recognized her rival at once.  But... she couldn't just cause direct physical harm to come even to the one she hated...  So she took a deep breath and screamed:  
  
**_"MIIIIIKUUUUUUU!!!!"_**


	3. Simultaneous, Parts 6-7

\---,  )--\-----     
      ( ( 04:00 PM ) )     
           -------(     ‘---

**_"WATCH OUT!!!"_**  
  
Miku was standing, checking her phone, when she heard her name being called.  She looked around cautiously, as to not draw attention to herself in case the warning had been unfounded.  But she only managed to brace herself before the yellow blur slammed into her, sending them both flying.  
  
Miku hit the ground hard, rolling a couple of times before coming to a stop, feeling the hard slabs that made up the ground of the Plaza beneath her.  She sat up slowly, holding her head with one hand.  As she opened her eyes, the world flashed for a few seconds before coming into focus.  It took her a few moments for her to realize that she didn't want everyone staring at her, and a few more moments passed before she remembered why.  Her hat.  Her hat and her sunglasses were gone, as was her wig, and she was fairly certain that the rest of her hair was not in its hiding place anymore.  
  
She jumped up and threw the empty backpack into the crowd.  Then she ran, slightly paranoid that she heard the sounds of scissors coming from within the mob.  
  
The chase was on.  
  
  


  ---     
      --- 04:03 PM ---     
                   ---

Neru watched, stunned, as the crowd pursued the flashy cyan model to the North.  Miku was fairly agile, considering the size of her hair.  She bounded and leapt and twisted above the crowd, looking like a graceful, cerulean swan.  ...Driving a semi.  Neru shook her head.  Now wasn't the time for silly poetry.  Where was her bike?  
  
She spotted it a little ways away back the way she had come.  Or been flung.  But as she approached it, it began to look less and less like a bike and more and more like a twisted mass of metal.  Which turned out to be a more accurate description of what her bike was now.  After thinking about it a bit, she decided that the crowd must have trampled it when they had seen their diva.  Either way, there was no repairing it... but she couldn't just leave it here in the middle of the road.  
  
Groaning, she lifted the bike onto its mutilated wheels and, with some difficulty, began pushing it down the road in the direction of her house.  As she pushed it down the now deserted road, she absentmindedly fiddled with the brakes.  Still broken.  She followed the brake line down the side of the bike's mangled frame with her eyes... until it suddenly ended.  Curious, she reached down to examine its severed end.  It had definitely been cut.  Had it been cut when it had been trampled?  But... hadn't her brakes not worked before that?  
  
She shook her head.  Naw, that wouldn't make any sense.  The stampede had definitely done it.  But... she couldn't shake the feeling that someone had done it on purpose.  She had made too many enemies over time, though, people who had a grudge for her bad work or just disliked her, for her to decide who could have done it.  And she knew that the thought would nag her until something else caught her attention.

 

\---,  )--\-----     
      ( ( 04:23 PM ) )     
           -------(     ‘---

Miku was getting a bit worried. The crowd had managed to flank her before she had managed to get to the road that led back home, forcing her onto a side street. Her sudden disappearance had, she hoped, confused the crowd. But she knew that at least some had seen her leave the plaza, and it wouldn't be long until they began pursuing her. In fact, she thought she could hear them now! Them, and their diabolical scissors...  
  
In a slight panic, she slipped into a nearby grocery store. The bell rang as the door closed, and she began walking down the center aisle. As she walked towards the back she checked each adjoining aisle, but the place seemed deserted despite the " ** _Open!_** " sign on the door. As she reached the back of the store, she turned to the right and walked along the counter. Suddenly, a door in the wall just past the end of the counter burst open and a red haired man rushed out, carrying a box of stock.  
  
"Aah!" Miku exclaimed, startled.  
  
The man looked startled as well, but recovered quickly. He seemed familiar, but Miku couldn't quite recall...  
  
"Ah! Miss Green Twintail!" he said enthusiastically. "Have you come for some more Negi?"  
  
She hesitated a moment, then replied, "Not right now, Mr. Hiyama." She remembered now; she had often come here when the server was less crowded to replenish her supply of Spring Onions. The store was owned by the man before her, Mr. Akito Hiyama. He was tall, had spiky red hair, and was always eager to please (and make a sale). He was not to be confused with Akaito Shion, whom he wasn't very fond of, or with Mr. Kiyoteru Hiyama, with whom he was a good friend. They were not related by blood, despite their identical last names. Both their last names are pronounced the same way, but they are spelled with different Kanji. Although Akito Hiyama was never good with names, he had always been eager to sell her more negi, at a reduced price, of course. He appreciated all his regular customers, even if he didn't know their names. He would simply label them himself.  
  
"I need a place to hide right now," she continued.  
  
He looked confused and slightly hurt. "A place to hide?" he asked. "From what?"  
  
She thought for a moment, looking for a way to explain it to him, then said, "There are some bad people trying to get me..." hoping that it would be sufficient reason. Akito wasn't the brightest bulb, but he seemed to understand her anxiety and the urgency of the situation.  
  
He nodded slowly, concern crossing his face. He turned and put the box he was carrying on the counter, then said, "Follow me. I think I know where you can hide." He walked through the door he had come through, and Miku followed him, into a storage area. There were boxes of products in various states of depletion on the shelves lining the room, as well as on the table that took up most of the space in the center of the room. To the left of the door she had come in from, on the opposite wall, was a large metal door, and it was up to this that Akito walked. As he opened it, a wave of cold air rushed out along the ground.  
  
"You'll be safe in here," he said, gesturing to the adjoining room. "It's cold, of course, being a refrigerator and all... but it's probably the securest place here..." He had a rather uncertain look on his face, and Miku was sure she had a similar look on hers. Stuck in this freezer for who knows how long, with nothing but the vegetables to keep her company? Sounds... miserable, at best. She walked up to the open doorway and peered inside. Akito had turned on the inside light, and she saw that it was a fairly large refrigerator, the shelves that lined it full of various vegetables and other perishable items. It would be cold... But when she thought about the mob outside and their severe desires... the freezer suddenly seemed much more appealing. This feeling was reinforced by the jingling of the door's bell.  
  
She turned to accept his offer, but found him stuffing a blanket into her arms, and pushing her into the refrigerator with quiet, urgent cries of "Hurry!" and "I'll go see who it is." And she found herself alone in the refrigerator, as the door closed shut behind her. She wrapped the blanket around herself, grateful that Akito had had the foresight to give it to her. She walked a few steps and sat down beside the doorway; if someone happened to look in, they might be less likely to see here there.  
  
As she leaned her head against the boxes there, she heard the sound of paper crinkling, somewhere close by. Looking around in the irrational fear that someone else was in there with her, it took her a moment to realize that the sound had come from behind her. She turned her head and found her nose touching a piece of paper. She leaned back to get a better look at it, and saw that it was a message, a note, scrawled on a piece of paper that was taped to the box behind her. It was a moment before she deciphered the words **"For Green Twintail Girl"** written in messy handwriting. The box was filled to the brim with spring onions.  
  
Her eyes widened and she felt her mouth start to water, and she reached in to grab one, quickly rationalizing the situation. But before she could get to any, she heard a loud commotion outside the metal door.  
  
"No, wait! ... You can't go in there!" from outside came Akito's voice.  
  
"Lemme at 'er!!" boomed a loud, commanding voice, slightly muffled by the wall. There were sounds of a struggle, then the sound of something hitting the door, hard. Then, silence.  
  
As Miku stood frozen (in more ways than one), she thought she spied a better place to hide on the other side of the room, between the tomatoes and the carrots. But, when she was in mid-dash across the room, the door opened and a dark, red-clad figure appeared in the doorway.  
  
Miku yelped and slipped on the cold floor, the blanket only slightly cushioning her fall. But as the silhouette advanced into the light, Miku relaxed. Meiko stared down at her, her hands on her hips, and a worried look on her face.  
  
"Are you OK?? Did he do anything to you?" she asked, running to help Miku up. As Meiko did so, Miku relpied, "Yeah, I'm fine..." She wondered what she must have looked like to Meiko. Stuck in a refrigerator, guarded by a rather simple-minded grocer, in a deserted store...  
  
"I saw you go into the store, and saw him take you back here. When you didn't come back out, I started to get worried..." She began to shiver, only now seeming to notice the cold. Noticing this, Miku took her out of the refrigerator. As Miku closed the door, she saw Akito slumped against the wall behind where the door would have been in front of before. Miku gasped, and knelt down to help him up.  
  
He, holding his head, said to her "Don't go... with that woman..." At the same time, Meiko turned and, seeing them, said "Hey! You get away from her!" and began quickly walking back towards them. Both seemed intent on a fight, but Miku intervened, putting her hand up to Meiko and holding Akito back. "Stop!" she cried.  
  
"Allow me to introduce you to each other," she continued after they had calmed down a bit. "Mister Hiyama, this is Meiko Sakine, my legal guardian. And Meiko, this is Mr. Akito Hiyama. He was hiding me from the unruly crowd outside..." She watched, slightly worried as the two observed each other. She could almost feel the tension leave the air as they relaxed and shook hands.  
  
Meiko spoke up first. "I'm sorry about that, I thought you had done something to her," she said, patting Miku on the head.  
  
"I understand," Akito replied, rubbing the back of his head. "I just wanted to keep those crazy people away from her." He turned towards Miku. "Anything for a friend."  
  
He smiled, and Miku returned it brightly. It had been a long while since anyone had called her that.  
  
"Well," Meiko said, a bit restlessly, "We'd better be on our way. C'mon Miku, we'd better get going before that mob figure out you're in here." As they walked towards the door leading out to the rest of the store, Miku turned to thank Akito, but he interrupted her.  
  
"Wait, wait," he said, and she stopped. "Your name is Miku? You're Miku Hatsune? **_THE_** _Miku Hatsune?_ "  
  
"Yes..." she replied. A peculiar expression had crossed his face, a mixture of awe and fear. It was and expression she had seen a thousand times before. Her smile faltered a little.  
  
He turned quickly, opening the refrigerator and grabbed something from within, then carried the box to her, shoving it into her arms. "Here, take these. No charge, of course, Miss Hatsune." His eyes seemed a bit glazed over; the previous spark of comradery and purpose was all but gone from his now nervous and slightly anxious expression.  
  
She thanked him, and they walked out the door, then out the store. He did not leave the storage area to see them off. As they got in Meiko's car, Miku sat in the back, the box of negi next to her. Normally she would have enjoyed such a snack, but as she gnawed on the vegetable, not tasting the flavor she loved so much, reading and rereading the note that had been taped to the box, the knot of emotions in her gut wondered if she would ever have any true friends.  
  
Meiko's driving skills did not help her feel any better.


	4. Simultaneous, Parts 8-9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day is drawing to a close... How have our two heroines fared? How has... the world fared around them?

  ---     
     --- 05:06 PM ---     
                  ---  


The sun cast long shadows on the lone figure walking down the deserted streets.  Shoulders slumped in defeat, it was all Neru could do to not drag her feet along the ground.  She felt as if she had lost a good friend.  
  
She had really loved her bike.  It had really been the only thing she had been able to depend on consistently.  But, earlier, Neru had ditched her busted bike in the first dumpster she had come across; it would have only served to hinder her progress.  
  
Heh, "progress".  She scoffed at the word.  She had decided long ago that the word did not even remotely describe her.  She was in the exact same position she had been in since the day she had dropped out of high school more than two years ago.  Still 17, still unemployed, still broke, still living in the same crummy apartment...  She had gone through 3 phones in that time span, but that was always a sad experience, so it didn't really count.  
  
Well, she thought, she wasn't broke at the moment; she had cashed in the check Kiyoteru had given her, and her wallet was filled with the money.  She had never bothered to keep a bank account; the money had never seemed to stay in it very long.  Besides, apart from the odd bill or payment that couldn't be paid in some form directly, she had connections in the phone company, and knew her landlord on a first name basis, so paying things was never too hard.  It didn't help the numbers, however.  
  
But she knew that having money wouldn't help her; it would just make her less motivated to find another job...  Neru sighed again, her shoulders slumped in defeat.  The lack of a mode of transportation would not help either.  As she walked, to her left was a small park, the sun just barely visible above the rooftops of the houses across the park.  Haku might be concerned if she arrived home so early, as she usually got off work at 5, but Haku could very well be so out of it that she wouldn't even notice.  
  
In the years after Haku's failed application into Officialoid-dom, she had been diagnosed with a variety of stress and alcohol related afflictions and illnesses, none of them immediately life threatening, but all of them hindrances to everyday life.  She spent half of her daylight hours in bed, hoping the money and, by extension, medications and painkillers didn't run out.  Despite these hardships, however, Haku held a steadier job than Neru.  If you considered small time (very small time) web design a job.  It made enough money for what it was, but Neru knew that if they wanted to stay afloat for more than just a few more weeks, she would have to find another job.  
  
Neru had applied for loid-dom once, a few years back, but she had never heard the end of it.  Meaning that she never heard anything about it either way.  Usually one got either a letter of acceptance or of rejection, but she had gotten neither.  Maybe her application had gotten lost in the system, or maybe it had been thrown out without a second thought.  But either way, she had never heard anything about her application.  
  
Over time, she began to resent the Official-loids and their system.  She began to believe that it was biased, twisted, so that only the ones with money or looks could get in, that it wasn't about what actually mattered.  (Of course, she knew that "what actually mattered" was probably not a quality she represented either)  She even began spreading rumors, spamming Vocaloid forums, and stealthily defacing various Miku merchandise and posters.  
  
Of all of them, she hated Miku the most.  How was it that that dumb leek-girl had made it look so easy?  A simple girl, 16 years old, a professional sounding voice, and long, unnaturally colored hair, comprised the things that she was.  But here she was now, far from the doorstep she had arrived on 5 years ago hoping to make it big.  Neru had admired Miku for that, her accomplishments and what she stood for.  But things changed...  
  
Her reminiscing came to an abrupt end when she realized that someone was walking alongside her.  She looked up to see a strange goggled figure staring creepily down at her.  Unfazed by the odd green and orange girl, Neru said, "C'mon, Gumi.  You know I know it's you."  
  
"Aww, you're no fun, Neru," the girl said, putting her goggles back in their usual place.  On her face was her trademark smile, sure to put anyone in a better mood.  "You never fall for that any more."  
  
"Not after you tried to trick me with it 3 times on the same day," Neru replied, smiling a bit at the memory.  But it faded quickly, leaving the harsh reality in its place.  Neru sighed again.  
  
"So, what's wrong?" Gumi prompted, tilting her head.  
  
"I got fired."  
  
"Again?" she said, raising an eyebrow.  "What was this, then, your 30th, 32nd..."  
  
"39th.  My 39th job."  
  
Gumi turned towards her, surprised.  "Really??  You know, that's really ironic.  Today was Miku's--"  She stopped abruptly, noticing Neru's sour expression.  Most people knew better than to mention Miku around Neru, Gumi better than most.  They walked silently for a few moments before Gumi said, "You know, you could always come back and work for us..."  
  
This brought a real smile to Neru's face as she remembered the few ridiculous days she had spent there.  "No," she said, "I can't.  You know that."  
  
"Yeah, but... it's just not the same without you..."  
  
"You've told me that every time I've been fired from a job, and I've told you the same thing every single time in response.  You know I can't go back, and you know why, too.  I've told you this every single time."  
  
"Yeah, but..."  
  
"And now that you've got Lily, my being there would just be more of a hindrance than a help."  She didn't intend to come across as seeming simple-minded or mean by declining, but there was really no way she could go back to that.  Silence reigned as Gumi tried to find something to say.  
  
"Oh, hey!  Look!"  Gumi said suddenly, interrupting Neru's train of thought.  "It's my big brother and his _giuurl-friend_!!"  She said this last word loudly, cupping her hands around her mouth.  The pink and purple couple stopped and turned their heads as Gumi ran up to them, smiling as always.  "Heey, Gackupo, Luka!" she said cheerily when she reached them.  "How long have you two been going out with her, bro, like, two years, or something?  You should just get married already!"  
  
Gackupo smiled and put patted her head.  "You know we haven't been 'going out' at all, silly.  We just happen to live close by, work close by, and have similar interests, so we like walking home together."  
  
"Besides," Luka continued, "I wouldn't be able to stand all those eggplants all the time."  
  
"And I'm not too fond of having only tuna, either," said Gackupo.  The two of them were infamous in various restaurant circles for their picky palettes.  
  
"So we settle for walking each other home from work together every day," Luka finished.  
  
"So," Gumi began, "You just walk with each other home from work?"  
  
They nodded.  
  
"Every day?"  
  
Affirmative again.  
  
"Even when there's no work?"  
  
They stood there dumbly, trying to work out how to answer "truthfully", but also "correctly", until Neru saved them from this awkward question by asking,  
"So, how was work?"  
  
They really took off on this one, telling how their day had been, stories from the past, and other stuff.  Gumi shot Neru a look that said "Aw, come on, Neru, you're no fun", but it didn't bother her.  Nearly the same thing had occurred every day for the last year or so, and she paid it little mind.  
  
She just listened as Luka told about how Oliver had come to the convenience store she worked at, buying more bandages for the fourth time that week.  She heard as Gackupo told the well-worn story about how he had mistaken Taito as a fellow eggplant aficionado, and had forced him to buy a dozen of the vegetables at half price.  That had become an instant favorite of himself and his coworkers, and they told it at every possible chance.  And Neru watched as Gumi told about there had been some sort of commotion at school and it had let out early, allowing her to earn an extra 12 ~~V~~ in tips.  
  
As they continued, Neru became more and more distant from the conversation, until she wasn't even listening anymore.  She was used to it, but did get a bit sad when she didn't have anything to contribute to the conversation.  She walked behind them, sometimes listening, sometimes lost in her own thoughts.  As they approached her apartment complex, she broke off to make her way up the steps to her second floor apartment, but Gumi stopped her before she could get very far.  
  
"You know," she said, dropping her hand from where she had placed it on Neru's shoulder.  "That you can always come to us if you need anything, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Neru replied.  
  
"Well, feel free.  It's the least I could do, for a friend," Gumi said, smiling.  She returned to Gackupo and Luka, who hadn't seemed to notice either of their disappearances.  Neru sighed and continued up the stairs, knowing that she could never take up her friend's offer.  
  
The building she lived in was comprised of four separate apartments, two on top of another two, and she lived in the one closest to the top of the stairs.  The other residents she didn't really know very well, as she usually spent her time at work, or inside her own apartment.  She walked up to her door and opened it, surprised to find it unlocked.  Inside, she found a disheveled, yellow-haired boy and girl with lime-green hair on her couch.  
  
"Nero?  Naru?  What are you doing here?  Aren't you supposed to be--" she broke off when Nero, her little brother, turned towards her for a moment, revealing a nasty blackened left eye.  Neru gasped and rushed up to the boy, asking, concerned, "Are you OK?  What happened?"  
  
But he just looked away, a sad and guilty look on his face.  She continued to ask him about it, until Naru spoke up, saying,  
  
"Nero's been expelled from school."

 

\---,  )--\-----     
      ( ( 06:22 PM ) )     
           -------(     ‘---

_"You got someone expelled from school!?"_  
  
Len nodded guiltily, and Miku leaned back in her chair, wondering how in the world things could have ended up like this.  Len's bandaged forehead, the large welt on his check, his dirty uniform, twisted ankle, and broken arm had become an instant source of conversation, as was Rin's (arguably) less serious injury.  It had taken a while to coax him out of his room, but after Kaito had spilled the beans on the fight, Len had emerged without much argument.  
  
He had hobbled downstairs on his injured ankle, assisted by his sister, and had sat down on the couch to Miku's left, where they sat now, waiting for the questions to come.  Meiko was in the kitchen preparing dinner, and Kaito was nervously pacing between the two rooms, trying to help with dinner and modulate the discussion at the same time.  
  
He had unloaded all the ice cream he had bought earlier, and had intended to pick up Miku afterward, but had gotten a phone call from school around 2'o'clock, telling him that the twins needed to be picked up.  He had gotten stuck in terrible traffic there and back, totaling at least an hour of driving time.  He had gone up to the school expecting to collect the children from some emergency, a prank fire alarm, or another facetious bomb threat, but instead found himself in the principal's office, along with the twins.  
  
The principal, a large man with questionable stitches on his forehead, Big Al (as most everyone called him) was not someone you crossed.  After a long lecture to the three of them about how he would not allow commotion of this sort in his school, he announced that Len would be suspended from school for a week, whilst the other perpetrator would be expelled.  He didn't say it aloud, but Al seemed afraid that if he punished them both on equal terms, there would be some sort of protest on the Crypton side.  So, then Kaito took them home, which took a while, and it was around 5:30 when they got back.  Miku and Meiko got back soon after that, and then here they were now.  
  
"So," Miku finally spoke up.  "How did it happen?"  
  
Len was silent for a moment, and then said, "Well, I guess it all started around eleven, before we had left for school."  
  
~~  
  
The twins had spent a couple of hours at the concert hall, for pictures, autographs, and stuff, during Miku's performance.  Even though it was Saturday, they still had school, but were excused for the first few hours for the concert.  Around that that time, Len had been outside, watching the crowd, and he had encountered Oliver, with whom he had a sort of rivalry.  He, Len, was currently the only Official-loid that was a younger boy.  Oliver, an up-and-coming Vocaloid from Power FunXions, was of the same category, and he always teased Len for his female voice provider.  Len always retorted with the fact that the bandages Oliver always sported were pointless, but it never really sounded as good.  
  
Around eleven, Oliver had come by on his way back from the nearby convenience store, and had started with his usual "Hey, Girl Guts!" and Len had retorted with his usual "Hey, yourself, Bandage Brain!"  (See?  It just doesn't sound as good.)  Normally this was exchanged in (fairly) good humor, but, as Oliver walked off laughing, Len stood, leaning against a pillar, arms crossed, not finding it as funny as he had before.  
  
The rest of the day hadn't gone much better.  They had had to endure Meiko driving them to school (at this, Kaito looked a little apologetic, but not really; his ice cream always took priority), survived a lecture from Ted about being late until they got a word in edgewise concerning the concert, and Len discovered that he had left a bunch of things back at the concert hall, including a heavily-weighted essay he had needed for the next class.  
  
But the last straw broke on the way to lunch.  His own lunch he had left at the concert hall as well, and was walking down the hall to the cafeteria to buy one of the school's questionable lunches.  As he was walking among the crowd, a yellow-haired boy around his age bumped roughly into him, and Len heard the boy mutter, "Move it, Miku-Lover."  
  
At that moment, when Len heard that, something inside snapped.  His pent up feelings, the stress of school and home life, his own insecurities, and some other, hidden reason; they all came out in that instant in a burst of rage.  He grabbed the boy by the shoulders and slammed him against the lockers on the side of the hall, and asked him, through gritted teeth, "What did you call me?"  
  
The boy looked stunned for a moment, but then smiled, taking up the offer to continue.  Spite glittered vengefully in his eyes, and he replied, "You heard me, _Mi-ku luh-ver._ "  He smiled, showing his teeth, and Len gritted his own, preparing a retort, but the boy continued.  "You Crypton Vocaloids all think you're _sooo_ special, with your big house, and your giant plaza, and your huge concert hall for all your huge concerts..."  
  
"Hey!" Len retorted, finally having a foothold.  "That place if for public use!  Anyone, UTAUloid, Official, or otherwise can utilize that place!"  
  
"Yeah, but nobody does!" the boy shot back.  "Only you and your-- no..., wait."  The boy narrowed his eyes, and said, "It's only Miku, isn't it?  How many concerts have you had in there?  Like what, 3?"  Len started, taken aback.  He couldn't really say anything to that; it was true.  Len released the boy from his grip, and they stared at each other across the clearing that had formed in the crowd.  "How many performances has Miku had?  Like, 20, or something?"  Len nodded slowly, still carefully observing the argument for an opportunity.  He began to get a bit nervous, the crowd crowding around him, and his opponent a crafty one.  His head began to itch, and he wished he had taken a shower earlier.  Another thing to add to the list of bad things today.  
  
"You want to be popular too, don't you?" the boy continued.  "It's everyone's dream who comes here.  You wouldn't be here if you didn't have at least a smidgen of talent.  So, if Miku's hogging all the glory, wouldn't it be nice if she just... disappeared?"  
  
The gasp that shot through the crowd was easily audible, and they were just as surprised as Len was.  Len could have very well gone for a direct opposition of this point, but decided instead to go a more roundabout route.  "I finally recognize you," Len said, leaning back, his eyes narrowing.  "You're Nero Akita, Neru Akita's little brother."  
  
Nero seemed quite surprised that Len had managed to identify him, and only managed to sputter, "So!?"  
  
"I met your sister once, briefly, a couple of years ago."  He still remembered the image vividly:  Neru, her costume and hairstyle a blatant copy of Miku's, except that the hair on the left side (from Len's perspective) of her head was, instead of being in another twintail, draped over her face and shoulder, hanging down to reach past her waist.  "Your sister was just a copy of Miku.  She was just someone who thought she could copy Miku and get the same fame and recognition, _without having to try_."  
  
Nero looked as Len had just a few minutes ago; searching worriedly for some hole in his argument.  "So what??  Aren't you just derived from your _sister_?"  Len started, surprised that Nero had just pinpointed his deepest and most insecure complexes.  "And she isn't the securest of people, is she?  She's threatened multiple people with her Road-Roller, hasn't she?!"  
  
"Well, what do you know?" Len shot back.  "You're just a derivative of a copy!  A _bad_ copy!  And--"  
  
\--They said simultaneously--  
  
_"Don't talk about my sister like that!!!"_  
  
They glared at each other in the space in the crowd, waiting for the other to make a move.  Neither moved, knowing that anything they did would be turned against them tenfold.  
  
The argument could have ended right there.  In fact, it could have ended at any point during its duration, before or after this point, and Len knew this.  But still he fought, and continued the argument.  It was a pointless fight, the only reason for it to retain some sense of dignity, which probably wasn't worth going through all this.  But now, the crowd was getting restless.  
  
Len realized now that Nero would never have started such a fight on purpose, that some bored troublemaker in the crowd had probably pushed Nero into him, but at the time, he had only seen Nero rush into him; malicious intent seemed obvious.  Len had pushed Nero away, landing a hard punch directly to his eye, the only other thing in his mind the crowd's chant of "Fight!  Fight!"  
  
Which is exactly what they did.  Len remembered very little of what happened after that point, as the events seemed to fade into a sort of red haze.  He remembered falling down the stairs while tussling with Nero, he remembered someone knocking Rin over when she attempted to help him, he remembered a loud, short rumbling sound coming from downstairs, and he remembered a lot more chaos and panic than would be over just a fight.  
  
It hadn't been until after Momo had carried the two of them up to the nurse's ward and the panic had died down that they learned the true extent of the damage.  While Ann had been tending to them, dozens of students had come in, with injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to second degree burns and broken bones.  
  
Rin had, in the commotion, injured her jaw, which she had to keep stationary, rendering her basically mute until it healed.  Apparently, during the fight, the intercom system as well as the fire alarm system had been disabled, and the electricity to the south wing had gone out.  There had also occurred something wrong with the water system, a burst pipe main or something, and the water was filthy now; there had been some sort of malfunction with the air circulation, and smoke had been pumped throughout the entire building.  There had been reports by faculty and students who claimed that they had heard the words "kill, bomb, die, fire, and destroy" come from within the crowd.  To top it all off, there had been some sort of chemical explosion in the science hall.  And, even though they knew that Len and Nero couldn't have caused all these events, they were the only perpetrators they had caught, so the blame fell to them.  
  
As the panic was being controlled, the principal decided to call it a day and send everyone home.  He brought Len and Nero into his office to talk to them directly.  Len did not want to relive that.  Soon after Nero had left, Kaito had arrived to take him and Rin home.  
  
~~  
  
"And that's what happened," Len finished.  
  
They were all sitting in the same position as they had been when he had started, except Kaito had decided to stay in the kitchen to help (or hinder?) the progress of dinner.  Rin sat quietly next to Len, tending to his wounds.  She had a bandage wrapped all the way around her head, to keep her from moving her jaw.  Miku was still sitting in the same chair; directly in front of her was the coffee table, to the left of which was the couch Len and Rin were on, and to its right was the wall with the TV on it.  Behind the couch the twins were on was the entrance to the kitchen, where cooking sounds were coming from.  On the other side of the wall directly behind Miku was the dining room where they usually had dinner, but tonight there would definitely be any semblance of a formal dinner.  
  
Miku leaned the chair back against this wall, thinking of a way to respond.  Finally, she said, "Do... people really think about me that way?"  
  
If Len hadn't been expecting that sort of question, he did his best to not show it.  After thinking a moment, he said, "Well, I guess so.  Any celebrity has haters, after all...  Besides, you've got millions of fans who would come to your aid if someone decided to criticize you."  Miku couldn't quite tell, but she thought that she might have heard a touch of sarcasm in his voice.  
  
A bit hesitantly, she asked, "Was that thing... about the concerts true, as well?"  
  
"Yes, in fact, it is."  He smiled, as if he had been waiting for a chance like this.  "I've a funny thing about concerts, actually.  Between the two of us, Rin and I, we've booked about 15 concerts in that new concert hall since it opened.  However, we've only performed 5 concerts, 1 together, and 2 each alone.  I had wondered what had happened to the other ten.  And when I looked in to it, do you know what I figured out?"  Miku began getting a bit nervous.  He continued, "That every one that had been canceled, had been canceled because someone of 'higher priority' had decided to book a concert at the exact same time.  And, last time I checked, we were only _second_ on the charts!"  
  
Miku fumbled around for a response.  "So, so what?  It was, just a coincidence, that's all!" she said indignantly.  
  
Len was angry now.  "A coincidence?!  10 times?  There were even 4 in the same week, at one point!  That's no coincidence!  That's _sabotage_!!"  
  
Miku decided that it was time to go on the offensive.  "What's with your attitude today!?  You're unhappy for some, whatever reason this morning, you argue with a kid at school, then you get into a fight with him!  Which shuts down the school, and Kaito has to go out of his way to pick you up!  You forget your assignments, earning bad grades- even probably on the ones you did turn in, as well!  And you hurt your sister.  How does that work out?!"  She was standing now, leaning forwards accusingly and gesturing with her arms at the finer points of her argument.  Len sat dumbfounded, searching for a response, but Miku continued, "Where did this all come from??  You were fine yesterday, what caused all this?  If you were unhappy this morning, what started it all??"  
  
Len fumbled around for an answer.  "The... that backpack..."  
  
"That backpack??" Miku interrupted, indignant.  "That one from this morning?  Well, I hate to break it to you, but that thing's gone.  Ripped to shreds, probably.  Why in the world did you have that thing, anyway??  What _possible reason_ could you have for owning that thing?!?"  
  
"I had it because I _liked_ you, Miku!!"  It was Len's chance to attack now, and he did it with gusto.  He had jumped up from the couch (or, at least "jumped" as much as his injuries would allow), and Rin had as well, to steady him on his ankle.  Miku now stood, stunned, as Len continued, angrily, "I had always thought that we could have had something together!  That we could have _been_ together!  But now that you've shown your true colors, now that you've revealed the selfish, self-centered, shortsighted _diva_ you really are, I don't think that's gonna happen any more!  Every time you seemed concerned for us, every time you were worried about something happening to Crypton Industries, it was never about _us_ , it had always been about _you_ , about _your image!_ "  He was in a rage now, and he swung his arm to emphasize this last point, but he remembered too late that his other arm was broken.  Subdued by the pain, he continued calmly, "I honestly did think that we could have made a good couple.  But now..." he shook his head, then, after a pause, turned and hobbled toward the stairs.  "Goodnight, Miku.  I'll see you in the morning."  
  
It was all she could do to stand, and sit.


	5. Simultaneous, Part 10

  ---     
     --- 09:32 PM ---     
                  ---

Neru sat, her head in her hands, her elbows on the desk, in her room, wondering what in the world she was going to do.  As if it hadn't been enough that Nero had been expelled from the only school that would accept him, the other perpetrator of the fight had been _Len Kagamine_ , of all people.  
  
"Did... he really say all those things about me?" she had asked.  
  
"Yeah..." Nero had replied hesitantly.  "He seemed to mean it too... but, you know, people get irrational when they're angry..." Nero and Naru had learned to always be careful in matters concerning Len.  But Len had still said those things, and it would be impossible to know whether or not he had been serious about it.  Neru knew that most of what he had said about her was completely true, and the rest wasn't that far off the mark.  
  
But that wasn't (arguably) the worst part.  Tomorrow, an investigator would be sent to, well, investigate.  The first thing that they would ask for would be their permits to live in this neighborhood.  Of course, she had neither these nor the ones designating her as a Vocaloid, UTAUloid, or anything in between.  Those would be the second item they would ask for.  There was no doubt in her mind that she and her siblings would be banned without hope of appeal.  They would be forced to leave, and there wasn't any place else for a failed-loid to go, other than the Bin.  
  
As she lowered her hands to stare at the papers strewn across her desk, the reality of it all hit her again.  Bills, bills, bills... Bills made up at least two thirds of the pages on the desk, and even with Kiyoteru's generous paycheck, she would be able to only just barely cover them all.  Among the other papers beside her computer were various reports of Haku's strange behavior around town, the official document detailing Nero's expulsion from school, and the permit for the investigator to come tomorrow.  
  
Neru absentmindedly fingered the knob of the lowest drawer in her desk, wondering if she should unlock it... and... No, no, she could never do that, not to them, not to herself, she thought, shaking her head and lifting her hand.  She instead decided something she had chosen numerous times over the hard reality of life: to go to bed, and wait for tomorrow.

As she lay there, one thought rattled around in her mind:   ** _Did she really belong here?_**

 

\---,  )--\-----     
      ( ( 10:07 PM ) )     
           -------(     ‘---

Miku lay in her bed, reflecting on the day.  Soon after Rin and Len had gone upstairs, Meiko had taken their dinners up to them on a tray.  After coming back down, she had put Miku's dinner in front of her on the coffee table, and then had sat on the couch the twins had been occupying not long earlier.  
  
"You know," Meiko had finally said, after Miku had decided to start eating.  "It never really could have worked out.  You're basically siblings, even though you're not actually related."  Miku nodded; it made sense...  "And besides," Meiko had continued, "He's got Rin to keep him company."  
  
"Yeah," Miku said abruptly, "Just like you've got Kaito."  She lifted her gaze from her partially eaten food to stare at Meiko.    
  
_"But who have I got?"_  
  
This simple question had seemed to echo throughout the empty room as they had pondered it for a long, silent time.  And, not finding an answer, Meiko had stood and went to collect the twins' dishes from upstairs.  But Miku stayed, thinking and evaluating, locating and eliminating each and every possibility of a partner when she had deemed him insufficient.  It wasn't until she had gotten around nearly 4000 people, Official and otherwise, that she had realized that it was nearly 10'o'clock and she had better be going to bed.  
  
And as she lay in bed, she eventually drew one final conclusion:   ** _That one was truly the loneliest number._**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the last part of this fanfic!  
> Of course, comments are appreciated.
> 
> Because stuff takes up a lot of time,  
> Expect very few updates soon.
> 
> Continuing to the actual story,  
> Obviously this is the end of the day.  
> Night has fallen, and revelation has come.  
> Those final lines are the punch lines of the story.  
> I wanted them to be the main points.  
> Neru doesn't belong, and Miku has no pair.  
> Under the circumstances, I think they're fairly logical conclusions.  
> Eventually, they should work out their problems.  
> Don't want to leave you guys hanging...


End file.
